BrightHR’s Thea Watson advises employers on the many ways to maintain happiness in the workplace.
Happier people tend to be more productive, creative, and accurate – just add punctual and voila, you’ve got the perfect employee.
So, what can you do to boost happiness in your workplace?
Create a culture of recognition
When your employees feel appreciated and their hard efforts are rewarded, they’re much more likely to feel their serotonin rise, lifting their wellbeing and satisfaction at work.
In fact, according to Quantum Workplace, employees are nearly three times more likely to be highly engaged if they believe they’ll be recognised for their contributions.
Investing in an easy way to show your employees’ some recognition is a good place to start.
Run socials or internal initiatives to give your workplace culture some TLC
Holding internal events and finding fun activities you can share with your staff is a great way to keep them engaged. Examples include company bake-offs, raffles, socials, competitions and sports teams.
Just make sure that if you hold a work social outside of the office, you set down the rules for proper conduct with staff. And remember social events are an extension of the workplace so if anything goes wrong, you still need to follow the correct disciplinary procedures.
Offer your team some perks. Why? Because everyone loves a perk!
Staff perks should be a huge part of your employee package. Not only are they vital to keep your current employees happy and feeling valued at work but they’re a great way to set your business apart in a competitive market.
Find a low-cost provider who can give your staff access to unique benefits like an employee perk platform where they can access thousands of cost-saving discounts and offers.
Offer a dress-down day if you’re usually business formal
Having a dress-down day or a fancy dress day is a great way to boost staff morale. Whether you’re raising money for charity or celebrating an occasion, it’s a bit of fun your staff can opt in or out of.
Just make sure you have the right and fair guidelines in place for proper employee dress code before offering this to staff.
Encourage employees to take a break
According to Censuswide, less than 40pc of UK adults took all their annual leave allowance in 2022. That’s a huge amount of people forgoing the wellbeing-boosting and happiness-bringing benefits of taking a break away from work.
Scientific studies have also found happiness can make people healthier, therefore lowering the likelihood of sick days and absence from work.
So, if you want happier staff in the long run, make sure they book that time off, whether it’s to enjoy a getaway, or simply relax at home!
By Thea Watson
Thea Watson is the chief international growth and marketing officer at BrightHR. A version of this article was previously published on the BrightHR blog.
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